Ramboll

Ramboll was involved in a construction project in Dubai as a consulting engineer
for a developer, who used contractors that violated the human rights of migrant construction
workers. The allegations against Ramboll were that Ramboll by silent complicity accepted
the violation of human rights and was indirectly responsible for the behaviour of
the contractors. The case illustrates how Ramboll has since worked to secure the right
business behaviour in relation to human and labour rights.

Challenge

In
February 2001 DanWatch published a critical report The Hidden Slaves. The
report criticized that two contractors (Arabtech Construction and Al Haabtoor Leighton),
which were working on the same projects as Ramboll, had violated the human rights
of migrant construction workers in Dubai. As part of its social responsibility work
Ramboll had not previously considered the social performance of project partners with
whom Ramboll did not have a contractual relation. Ramboll only had a contract with
the developer and not with the contractor. When the DanWatch report became known,
the Danish media wrote many critical articles about Ramboll. For example the headline
in one of the leading Danish newspapers said: “Ramboll accused of involvement
in slavery”.

Focus on solutions

Ramboll quickly acknowledged that
it had not been properly prepared for how to ensure the protection of human rights
in compliance with the UN Global Compact principles. Ramboll recognized that it had
not considered third party (contractor) compliance. In September 2011 Ramboll therefore
launched its new policy ”Obligation to Act” for all its employees and
also informed more than 5,000 customers about the new policy. Today all Ramboll employees
must act if they become aware that project partners (including third parties) violate
human rights. In January 2012 Ramboll also launched a ”Suppliers’ Declaration”
that all suppliers, sub-consultants and consortium partners must accept. These new
initiatives are in line with the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights.

Key lessons

Awareness about the extent of social responsibility.
It is important that a company is aware of the extent of its social responsibility
and that this responsibility can also change over time. Ramboll originally assumed
that its responsibility extended to collaborators with whom Ramboll had signed a contract.
Today Ramboll’s employees have an obligation to act if they become aware of
human rights violations by the developer, architects, consulting engineers, contractors
or other project partners even if they do not have a contractual relation.

Social
responsibility needs to be integrated into existing management processes and systems.
It is important to integrate CSR policies into existing management processes and systems
in order to ensure that social responsibility becomes an integrated part of the business.

Speak
openly to customers about social challenges. It is useful to speak openly to
customers about social challenges. It is considered professional behaviour that the
consultant pays attention to social responsibility challenges.

Timeline

17 February, 2011DanWatch informed Ramboll that it was about
to publish a report about two contractors’ violations of the human rights of
migrant construction workers in Dubai. The contractors were involved in the same projects
as Ramboll. Ramboll had not previously focused on the social responsibility performance
of contractors with whom Ramboll did not have a contractual relationship.

March 2011Ramboll initiated a dialogue with the Danish Association of Consulting Engineers,
the Confederation of Danish Industries, and FIDIC (the International Federation of
Consulting Engineers).

September 2011Ramboll
launched its new policy ”Obligation to Act” for all Ramboll employees
and also informed more than 5,000 customers about the new policy. Today all Ramboll
employees have an obligation to act if they become aware of violations of human rights
caused by project partners.

January 2012Launch of a ”Suppliers’ Declaration” aimed at all suppliers, sub-consultants
and consortium partners.

Speak openly to customers about problems.
It is useful to speak openly to customers. It is considered professional behaviour
that the consultant pays attention to social responsibility challenges.

We believe that the best way forward is to be transparent about our
dilemmas and to have a constructive and open dialogue about potential problems with
our collaborators (CEO Jens-Peter Saul).

Ramboll acknowledged quickly that it had not been prepared properly
for how to deal with its obligation under the UN Global Compact’s 2nd Principle
which requires Ramboll to make sure that it is not complicit in human rights abuses.